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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 116 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 · mine · kid · bowl · kick · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. tear — to rip
  10. kid — child
  11. mine — for digging
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kick — in football
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. kick — a thrill

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