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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pop — soda
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pop — music
  8. degree — from a university
  9. spell — letters
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rush — hurry
  12. spell — magic
  13. lean — to bend
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fall — the season
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. spell — a short time

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