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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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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: straw · row · bear · march · lash · stick · tube · cold

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. march — music
  5. tube — a container
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. row — to paddle
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bear — the animal
  21. tube — the underground
  22. march — the month
  23. row — a line
  24. straw — dry grass

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