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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. last — final
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. last — to go on
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stem — to come from
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — music
  12. last — finally
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — from crying
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. tear — from crying
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. toast — bread
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. march — the month
  24. toast — the most admired

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