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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — music
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. roll — a cake
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. clip — for paper
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. roll — a list
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — to rip
  18. dip — to sink
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bear — the animal
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. clip — a video
  24. roll — on a roll

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