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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. scale — size or range
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. tear — from crying
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bank — of a river
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pop — to visit
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bank — for money
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — to rip
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bank — for money
  19. tear — from crying
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pop — music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. scale — in music

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