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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: tear · pit · wind · march · firm · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — music
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. march — the month
  7. firm — decided
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pit — a hole
  10. firm — a company
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. march — the month
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. firm — steady
  17. mine — an explosive
  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