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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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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. lean — thin
  9. march — music
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pound — a weight
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. lean — to bend
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lean — to rest against

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