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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. march — the month
  10. track — a song
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. track — to keep track
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cap — a hat
  21. track — a path
  22. kick — in football
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cap — of ice

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