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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: court · fall · pound · face · deal · march · patient · tear

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. tear — to rip
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. march — the month
  9. face — to point toward
  10. court — of law
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fall — to drop
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pound — a weight
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fall — the season
  22. face — to confront
  23. deal — to handle
  24. march — music

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