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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bound — obliged
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. sharp — clever
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. march — music
  9. bound — tied together
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. scale — size or range
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. march — the month
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bound — certain
  24. scale — in music

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