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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. face — to confront
  4. tear — from crying
  5. face — to point toward
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. march — the month
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. court — for sport
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. face — part of the head
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. court — of law
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — to rip
  19. court — of a king
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — a division
  24. march — music

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