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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: squash · march · tear · stick · dip · cold · bear · court

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. march — the month
  3. court — for sport
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. march — music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. court — of a king
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. march — the month
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. court — of law
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — to crush

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