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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: track · snap · march · tear · chest · saw · ball · fall

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. chest — a box
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fall — to drop
  13. track — a song
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ball — a great time
  18. track — to keep track
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. march — the month
  21. track — a path
  22. snap — to click
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fall — the season

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