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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bass — the fish
  4. file — a line of people
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. file — a document
  10. march — music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. march — the month
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. roll — a list
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. scale — in music
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. file — a tool
  24. roll — a cake

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