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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. fork — in a road
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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