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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stem — to come from
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. last — to go on
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. ball — a dance
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. march — the month
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — a trail
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. last — final
  22. charge — a price
  23. march — music
  24. hand — help

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