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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. lean — to bend
  3. band — a music group
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. band — a ring
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. net — for catching
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. row — a line
  11. ball — a great time
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. ball — a dance
  15. march — the month
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — a list
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lean — thin
  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