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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tear — from crying
  5. march — music
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rock — a stone
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. tear — from crying
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. snap — to click
  12. file — a tool
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. rock — music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. season — of the year
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. file — a line of people
  19. foot — a measure
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. file — a document
  23. season — in sport
  24. march — the month

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