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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ground — crushed
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. march — music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. band — a ring
  8. bark — to shout
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. march — the month
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — a position
  16. band — a music group
  17. pop — music
  18. march — the month
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. tear — to rip

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