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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — in football
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. march — the month
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. march — music
  21. wake — a trail
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. sharp — clever

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