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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. dip — to sink
  9. tear — to rip
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pop — soda
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pop — to visit
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. pop — music
  17. squash — the sport
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. lie — to recline
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fork — in a road
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. ruler — a monarch

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