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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 116 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: march · fall · tear · land · nail · kid · pass · root

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. tear — to rip
  4. root — the cause
  5. march — the month
  6. land — ground
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. root — of a word
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. fall — the season
  14. land — to come down
  15. root — of a plant
  16. march — music
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pass — a permit
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. land — a country
  24. march — the month

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