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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rock — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — to sink
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rush — hurry
  13. tear — to rip
  14. ball — a great time
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. sharp — clever
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. ball — a dance
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. march — music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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