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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — to handle
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pop — to visit
  19. lie — to recline
  20. tear — from crying
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wound — an injury
  24. deal — a big deal

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