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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rock — music
  5. object — an aim
  6. mine — for digging
  7. object — a thing
  8. field — farmland
  9. object — to protest
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. rock — a stone
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. field — for sport
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. cap — a lid
  20. tear — from crying
  21. field — a subject
  22. snap — to click
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cap — of ice

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