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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. march — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. tear — to rip
  6. content — happy
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pop — to visit
  12. march — the month
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. march — the month
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pop — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. rule — a law
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pop — soda
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. nail — for a hammer

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