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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. band — a music group
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. march — music
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. tear — from crying
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tear — to rip
  18. band — a ring
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — the month
  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