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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. drill — army training
  4. last — final
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. shower — rain
  7. last — finally
  8. march — the month
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. club — a group
  12. drill — a practice
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. march — music
  16. club — for dancing
  17. kick — in football
  18. shower — to wash
  19. last — to go on
  20. club — for golf
  21. drill — the tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wound — an injury
  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