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

Word bank: march · straw · bear · pass · cap · tear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — a permit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cap — a hat
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. 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