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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. firm — steady
  6. tear — to rip
  7. face — to point toward
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. march — the month
  10. key — the most important part
  11. march — the month
  12. firm — decided
  13. branch — a division
  14. firm — a company
  15. face — part of the head
  16. snap — to click
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. march — music
  20. court — of a king
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. court — for sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. face — to confront

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