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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — the month
  3. race — humankind
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rest — what's left
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. kid — child
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kid — to tease
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. plane — a tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. race — a contest

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