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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — a line
  5. suit — to fit
  6. ground — crushed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — to paddle
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. ground — a position
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. land — ground
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. tear — to rip
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. ground — the earth
  20. suit — in cards
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. suit — clothes

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