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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 116 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rock — music
  4. plane — a tool
  5. row — a line
  6. pop — soda
  7. row — to paddle
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pop — music
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — a stone
  14. squash — to crush
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. object — an aim
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bass — low music
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. tear — from crying
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bass — the fish
  24. object — a thing

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