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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rock — music
  4. court — for sport
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wind — moving air
  11. court — of law
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. tear — from crying
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rock — a stone
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. pound — a weight
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — of a king
  24. saw — the tool

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