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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. march — music
  3. hand — help
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wind — moving air
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. mark — a grade
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. tear — to rip
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mark — a trace
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. temple — a place of worship

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