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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. row — a line
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pop — soda
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — temperature
  10. row — to paddle
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. pop — to visit
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bore — to tire
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. degree — an amount

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