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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. march — music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. court — for sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. court — of law
  17. mate — a friend
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. march — the month
  20. mate — a partner
  21. court — of a king
  22. tear — from crying
  23. foot — a measure
  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