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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · march · cell · last · foot · tear

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. cell — a phone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wake — a trail
  10. last — finally
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. tear — to rip
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. foot — a measure

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