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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. can — a tin
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fine — high quality
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. squash — the sport
  18. can — a tin
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cold — not warm
  21. vault — a safe
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. can — to be able to
  24. fine — all right

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