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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — help
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bass — low music
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. bass — the fish

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