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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: march · firm · tear · arm · rule · wind · race · bound

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. firm — steady
  4. race — a contest
  5. march — the month
  6. race — humankind
  7. bound — obliged
  8. race — the arms race
  9. march — music
  10. firm — decided
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — certain
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bound — tied together
  17. tear — to rip
  18. firm — a company
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. tear — from crying
  21. march — the month
  22. rule — government
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. rule — a law

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