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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pop — music
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pop — soda
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. present — a gift
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bear — the animal
  14. present — the time now
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ground — a position
  17. tear — from crying
  18. present — there
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bear — the animal

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