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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. lean — thin
  4. swing — to play on
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pass — a permit
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. swing — music
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. capital — money
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lean — to bend
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bear — the animal
  18. swing — in golf
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. saw — the tool
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. capital — a city

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