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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: ruler · calf · bark · chest · tear · wind · scale · march

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — music
  4. scale — in music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. march — the month
  8. scale — size or range
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. bark — to shout
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. march — the month
  24. ruler — for measuring

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