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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — the month
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. tube — the underground
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. march — the month
  9. lean — to bend
  10. roll — a list
  11. march — music
  12. bank — for money
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tube — a container
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. lean — thin
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. roll — a cake
  24. court — of a king

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