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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rush — hurry
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. march — music
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wake — a trail
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. march — the month
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. tear — to rip
  20. snap — to click
  21. perch — the fish
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — the month

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