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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. root — of a word
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. swing — to play on
  9. band — a ring
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. tear — to rip
  14. band — a music group
  15. swing — music
  16. march — music
  17. root — of a plant
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. root — the cause
  21. sharp — clever
  22. swing — in golf
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. track — to keep track

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