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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cap — a lid
  7. vault — a safe
  8. march — music
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wound — an injury
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lash — an eyelash

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