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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — music
  5. board — to get on
  6. craft — a skill
  7. can — a tin
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. ground — crushed
  10. can — a tin
  11. cell — a phone
  12. ground — a position
  13. can — to be able to
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. board — a committee
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. craft — boats
  24. cell — in biology

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