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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. march — the month
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pitch — completely
  10. craft — boats
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rush — hurry
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bear — the animal
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bat — for baseball

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