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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. track — a path
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cap — of ice
  11. track — to keep track
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. track — a song
  15. bore — to drill
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mate — a friend
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — the month
  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