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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. tear — to rip
  4. race — the arms race
  5. suit — clothes
  6. march — the month
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. suit — in cards
  9. band — a ring
  10. spell — magic
  11. march — the month
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a music group
  16. march — music
  17. suit — to fit
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spell — a short time
  20. race — a contest
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. race — humankind
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spell — letters

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