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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.

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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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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: object · march · court · straw · stick · chest · scale · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. march — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. object — a thing
  6. march — the month
  7. object — an aim
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. scale — in music
  11. object — to protest
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. march — the month
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. date — the fruit
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — size or range

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