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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. spell — a short time
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tear — from crying
  9. shower — rain
  10. march — music
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. march — the month
  13. spell — letters
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. mark — a trace
  19. last — finally
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. spell — magic
  22. last — final
  23. bound — certain
  24. pass — to spend time

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