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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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pop — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — to visit
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — a trace
  16. tube — a container
  17. deal — to handle
  18. pop — soda
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rock — music
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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