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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wound — an injury
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. drill — the tool
  8. swing — in golf
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — to play on
  14. march — music
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. tear — to rip
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rest — a break
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — the month
  22. swing — music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. drill — army training

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