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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — rain
  4. saw — the tool
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ground — crushed
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — the animal
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. ground — the earth
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. shower — to wash
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ground — a position
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tear — from crying

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