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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  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. march — the month
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. root — of a plant
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. chest — a box
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — the cause
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. root — of a word
  20. rush — hurry
  21. capital — money
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ruler — for measuring
  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