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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 116 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mine — for digging
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. face — to confront
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — music
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. prune — to trim
  10. swing — in golf
  11. prune — to trim
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pop — music
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pop — soda
  17. tear — to rip
  18. face — part of the head
  19. craft — boats
  20. swing — to play on
  21. face — to point toward
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pop — to visit
  24. mine — an explosive

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