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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — to bear
  5. object — a thing
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — the month
  12. tear — to rip
  13. object — an aim
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cap — a lid
  16. object — to protest
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — a video
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — help
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. cold — an illness

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