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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. march — the month
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. firm — decided
  10. bound — certain
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bound — tied together
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. march — the month
  20. firm — steady
  21. bound — obliged
  22. march — music
  23. firm — a company
  24. rush — to hurry

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