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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mark — a grade
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. march — the month
  6. craft — boats
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. mark — a trace
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fall — to drop
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. clip — a video
  20. craft — a skill
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — for paper
  24. present — the time now

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