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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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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 · bowl · fall · lash · hide · content · tear · key

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. 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. march — music
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. content — happy
  4. tear — to rip
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. march — the month
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. key — for a lock
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — to drop
  13. key — in music
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — the season
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tear — from crying
  18. key — the most important part
  19. content — the amount
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. 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