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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. can — to be able to
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. degree — an amount
  9. tear — from crying
  10. snap — to click
  11. can — a tin
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitch — completely
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. can — a tin
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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