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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 124 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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — a coil
  6. game — wild animals
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. tear — to rip
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. roll — a list
  13. bass — the fish
  14. game — a match
  15. spring — of water
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spring — the season
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bass — low music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. march — music

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