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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. last — to go on
  2. march — music
  3. rest — what's left
  4. last — final
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — a signal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. last — finally
  9. bound — tied together
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. march — the month
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cue — a hint
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cue — for pool
  18. rest — a break
  19. bound — certain
  20. rest — what's left
  21. saw — the tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bound — obliged
  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