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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 124 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.

Make a worksheet

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: spring · bark · straw · arm · patient · march · swing · mug

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. spring — the season
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. mug — a face
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. spring — of water
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — the month
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. swing — in golf
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. march — the month
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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