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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — the month
  4. tear — from crying
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — to trim
  7. season — in sport
  8. march — music
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — to tease
  11. season — of the year
  12. present — the time now
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. prune — to trim
  16. tear — to rip
  17. present — there
  18. kid — child
  19. rush — hurry
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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