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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. march — music
  3. object — to protest
  4. bound — obliged
  5. rest — a break
  6. march — the month
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cell — a phone
  14. object — an aim
  15. bound — certain
  16. march — the month
  17. bound — tied together
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rest — what's left
  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