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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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 — the month
  2. perch — the fish
  3. object — an aim
  4. march — music
  5. squash — the sport
  6. march — the month
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. field — for sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — to rip
  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