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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rock — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. ground — a position
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. staff — a stick
  8. pit — a hole
  9. ground — the earth
  10. march — the month
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pit — in a race
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rock — a stone
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. ground — crushed
  18. saw — the tool
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. staff — employees
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. staff — employees

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