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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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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: cap · march · chest · tear · kick · rock

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. kick — in football
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — of ice
  8. tear — from crying
  9. march — the month
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. tear — to rip

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