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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. club — for dancing
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bulb — for light
  11. club — for golf
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. drill — a practice
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. hand — help
  21. march — music
  22. drill — army training
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. club — a group

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