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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: kid · object · wave · march · mouse · tear

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. object — a thing
  4. march — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — child
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. object — an aim
  16. march — the month
  17. object — to protest
  18. march — the month

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