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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. tear — from crying
  3. charge — electricity
  4. last — to go on
  5. charge — a price
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hand — in cards
  8. tear — to rip
  9. march — the month
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. charge — in control
  12. shower — rain
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — to wash
  15. last — finally
  16. mark — a trace
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. march — music
  21. hand — help
  22. last — final
  23. tear — from crying
  24. row — a line

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