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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · calf · mark · bass · march · cold · tear · last

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. last — final
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mark — a grade
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bass — the fish
  11. last — to go on
  12. march — the month
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bass — low music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. last — finally
  18. cold — not warm
  19. march — the month
  20. mark — a trace
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. march — music

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