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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.

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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: rock · mug · march · wake · hand · tube · bound · straw

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rock — music
  6. mug — a cup
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — help
  10. mug — a face
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tube — a container
  16. mug — to rob
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. march — music
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rock — a stone

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