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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. present — the time now
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wind — moving air
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chest — of your body
  12. present — there
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chest — a box
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. scale — size or range
  24. present — a gift

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