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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: kid · stick · tear · ball · face · pop · bear · march

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tear — to rip
  7. ball — a dance
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. march — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bear — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. march — the month
  18. pop — soda
  19. ball — a great time
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. face — to confront
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. face — part of the head

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