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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: straw · wound · bank · coach · march · mark · kid · craft

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. craft — boats
  6. march — music
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wound — an injury
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bank — for money
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mark — a grade
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bank — for money
  23. wound — an injury
  24. craft — a skill

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