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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. club — for dancing
  3. march — the month
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. march — the month
  6. tear — from crying
  7. club — a group
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. club — for golf
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. march — music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. saw — the tool

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