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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spell — letters
  6. race — a contest
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spell — magic
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — music
  12. spell — a short time
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stand — to bear
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. race — humankind
  19. hand — help
  20. march — the month
  21. pitch — completely
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stand — for spectators

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