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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — a publisher
  5. spring — a coil
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. date — the fruit
  11. march — the month
  12. land — a country
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. spring — of water
  19. press — newspapers
  20. march — the month
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. spring — the season

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