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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 120 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 · club · object · scale · march · shower · pop · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. object — a thing
  5. tear — to rip
  6. march — the month
  7. club — for dancing
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pop — to visit
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. club — a group
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — size or range
  22. shower — rain
  23. club — for golf
  24. scale — in 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