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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wake — a trail
  11. tear — to rip
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. march — music
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — clever
  18. patient — a sick person

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