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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. swing — music
  3. cap — of ice
  4. swing — in golf
  5. rest — a break
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cap — a hat
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. march — the month
  14. root — of a word
  15. rest — what's left
  16. swing — to play on
  17. march — the month
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pitch — completely
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — child
  22. march — music
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rest — what's left

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