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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. tube — a container
  3. march — the month
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. march — music
  6. field — a subject
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. hand — help
  9. tear — from crying
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. field — farmland
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. band — a music group
  15. tear — to rip
  16. can — a tin
  17. field — for sport
  18. band — a ring
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tube — the underground
  24. band — a rubber band

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