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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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. game — a match
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rush — hurry
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fork — in a road
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kick — in football
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rock — music
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. scale — in music
  23. game — a kind of play
  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