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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 120 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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. march — music
  3. content — happy
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. firm — a company
  7. mine — for digging
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. spell — letters
  11. march — the month
  12. spell — magic
  13. tear — to rip
  14. content — the amount
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. march — the month
  18. firm — decided
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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