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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. march — the month
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. row — a line
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. tear — to rip
  13. dip — to sink
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bulb — for light
  16. prune — to trim
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wake — a trail

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