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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. present — there
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — an illness
  8. board — to get on
  9. bank — for money
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tear — from crying
  12. board — a committee
  13. march — the month
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bank — of a river
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. game — a match
  21. march — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — to crush
  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