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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. fork — in a road
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. squash — to crush
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pit — in a race
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pop — soda
  17. tear — from crying
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. tear — to rip
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. band — a ring
  24. pit — a hole

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