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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: tear · hide · cold · march · calf · ruler

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. march — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. march — the month
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. march — the month
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. cold — not warm
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hide — to keep secret

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