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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hand — help
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. hand — in cards
  11. march — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mark — a grade
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — music
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hand — part of the body

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