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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. stand — to bear
  3. tear — to rip
  4. staff — employees
  5. net — after costs
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — in sport
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rash — hasty
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. tube — a container
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rash — a series

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