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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.

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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — from crying
  3. object — a thing
  4. pop — to visit
  5. land — to come down
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. swing — music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. object — an aim
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. land — ground
  14. object — to protest
  15. land — a country
  16. march — music
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. swing — in golf
  19. march — the month
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. march — the month

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