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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 120 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. march — the month
  3. rash — a series
  4. court — of a king
  5. rash — hasty
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. present — the time now
  8. court — of law
  9. present — there
  10. file — a tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. file — a document
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. cold — an illness
  16. file — a line of people
  17. march — music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. present — a gift
  20. tear — from crying
  21. march — the month
  22. court — for sport
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cold — not warm

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