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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: file · mine · straw · pass · lash · march · capital · prune

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pass — a permit
  5. mine — for digging
  6. file — a document
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. file — a tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. file — a line of people
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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