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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. present — there
  2. mark — a grade
  3. present — a gift
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hand — help
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. object — to protest
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. tear — to rip
  14. saw — the tool
  15. march — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. tear — from crying
  20. march — the month
  21. mark — a trace
  22. present — the time now
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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