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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. present — the time now
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pass — a permit
  5. march — music
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. present — there
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. march — the month
  19. plane — a tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. present — a gift

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