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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. squash — to crush
  5. march — music
  6. file — a tool
  7. march — the month
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rock — a stone
  11. march — the month
  12. tear — from crying
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. file — a document
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rush — hurry
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. tear — to rip
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rock — 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