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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. prune — to trim
  4. march — the month
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. season — in sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. march — music
  9. wake — a trail
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. tear — from crying
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. march — the month
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wake — before a funeral

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