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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: kid · tear · march · field · firm · wave

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. tear — from crying
  3. firm — a company
  4. march — the month
  5. field — farmland
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. kid — to tease
  9. march — the month
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. march — music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. field — for sport
  15. kid — child
  16. field — a subject
  17. firm — steady
  18. wave — of the sea

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