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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. firm — decided
  3. tear — to rip
  4. firm — steady
  5. pop — to visit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cell — in biology
  8. ground — crushed
  9. row — a line
  10. bass — low music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pop — soda
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. lean — thin
  18. cell — a phone
  19. firm — a company
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pop — music
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bass — the fish

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