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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — for catching
  5. saw — the tool
  6. can — to be able to
  7. march — the month
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. saw — the tool
  10. can — a tin
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. game — wild animals
  15. march — the month
  16. can — a tin
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. tear — to rip
  22. net — after costs
  23. tear — from crying
  24. net — in sport

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