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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. club — for golf
  3. track — a song
  4. tear — to rip
  5. track — a path
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. club — for dancing
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ground — crushed
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pop — soda
  18. club — a group
  19. pop — to visit
  20. object — a thing
  21. prune — to trim
  22. object — an aim
  23. pop — music
  24. bass — low music

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