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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. march — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. firm — decided
  4. can — a tin
  5. cold — an illness
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lie — to recline
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. march — the month
  10. firm — steady
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — a publisher
  13. firm — a company
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. can — to be able to
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. press — to push
  18. tear — from crying
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — not warm
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. march — the month
  23. lie — an untruth
  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