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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. row — to paddle
  3. march — music
  4. last — to go on
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bass — low music
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. march — the month
  10. scale — in music
  11. cue — for pool
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cue — a signal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — finally
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cue — a hint
  18. row — a line
  19. tear — to rip
  20. last — final
  21. bore — to tire
  22. march — the month
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bass — the instrument

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