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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to confront
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. march — the month
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. prune — to trim
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. capital — money
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — a break
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. march — music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mine — for digging
  24. prune — the fruit

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