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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. march — the month
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fall — to drop
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fall — to drop
  9. row — to paddle
  10. march — music
  11. ground — crushed
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. fall — the season
  16. club — for golf
  17. ground — a position
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — the month
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — a group
  24. row — a line

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