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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. march — the month
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. march — the month
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. roll — a cake
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mug — to rob
  15. roll — a list
  16. mug — a face
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. rule — government
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. march — music
  21. mug — a cup
  22. pop — music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tear — from crying

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