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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. mate — a friend
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bear — the animal
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mate — a partner
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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