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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: stick · tear · club · race · wound · mouse · spring · march

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. club — for golf
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. race — humankind
  5. march — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. race — a contest
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — of water
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spring — the season
  15. club — a group
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. club — for dancing
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. march — the month

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