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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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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 · cell · rush · wound · row · march · deal · rock

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rock — music
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wound — an injury
  16. row — a line
  17. march — music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — a phone
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — to handle
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rush — hurry

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