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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. march — music
  3. lean — to bend
  4. game — a match
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bear — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pop — soda
  14. ground — crushed
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ground — the earth
  18. lean — thin
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. march — the month
  23. mark — a trace
  24. game — a kind of play

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