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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. tear — from crying
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bass — low music
  6. mark — a grade
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bark — to shout
  10. plane — a tool
  11. court — of law
  12. pop — music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. court — for sport
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. court — of a king
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mark — a trace
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. row — a line
  24. pop — to visit

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