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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. swing — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pop — soda
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. row — a line
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pop — music
  12. tube — a container
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. rush — hurry
  16. row — to paddle
  17. ground — a position
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. ground — the earth
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tube — the underground
  23. swing — to play on
  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