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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 124 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. tear — from crying
  4. band — a music group
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fine — all right
  7. kid — to tease
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fine — high quality
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pit — a hole
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. band — a ring
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wind — moving air
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. kid — child
  24. tear — from crying

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