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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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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: bear · march · can · patient · pitch · pop · race · tear

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bear — the animal
  4. can — a tin
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. march — music
  7. bear — the animal
  8. can — a tin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — to rip
  13. can — to be able to
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. march — the month
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pop — music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. race — humankind
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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