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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ground — a position
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. track — a path
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bass — the fish
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bass — low music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  24. bowl — to roll

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