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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pop — soda
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pop — music
  6. court — of law
  7. pitch — completely
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — ground
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. club — a group
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — for golf
  17. court — for sport
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. court — of a king
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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