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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. can — a tin
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spell — letters
  5. can — a tin
  6. prune — to trim
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. spell — magic
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. march — music
  22. can — to be able to
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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