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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: suit · leaves · mug · march · straw · kid · wind · bat

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. kid — child
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. suit — to fit
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. suit — clothes
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mug — to rob
  15. kid — to tease
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. mug — a face
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bat — the animal
  22. suit — in cards
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com