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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 124 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. march — music
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — a thing
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — the month
  14. pitch — completely
  15. rock — music
  16. toast — bread
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. object — to protest
  23. rock — a stone
  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