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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. present — the time now
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. present — a gift
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — a trace
  15. game — a match
  16. face — to confront
  17. mark — a grade
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — to rip
  21. present — there
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wake — a trail

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