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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cell — a phone
  3. court — of law
  4. race — humankind
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. court — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lean — thin
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. race — a contest
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bear — the animal
  22. court — of a king
  23. march — music
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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