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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 116 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. rash — a series
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. land — a country
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. land — ground
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. land — to come down
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. march — the month

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