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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — ground
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. march — music
  6. rest — a break
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. march — the month
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. land — a country
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chair — a leader
  19. march — the month
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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