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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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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: content · sharp · march · fork · band · tear · leaves · ball

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. march — the month
  4. fork — in a road
  5. content — happy
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. march — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. sharp — clever
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. content — the amount
  13. band — a ring
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. tear — to rip
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. band — a music group
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. ball — a dance
  24. tear — from crying

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