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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: present · firm · craft · last · march · tear · wound · deal

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. last — to go on
  3. deal — to handle
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. tear — from crying
  6. present — a gift
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. present — there
  9. tear — to rip
  10. last — finally
  11. tear — from crying
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. craft — boats
  14. march — the month
  15. firm — steady
  16. wound — an injury
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. last — final
  22. wound — an injury
  23. present — the time now
  24. firm — a company

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