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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pop — music
  4. pit — in a race
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. capital — a city
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pop — soda
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. capital — money
  13. hand — help
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pop — to visit
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — to hit hard

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