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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. content — happy
  3. ground — crushed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. current — happening now
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rash — a series
  9. content — the amount
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. current — electric
  12. band — a ring
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. current — of water
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. band — a music group
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. tear — from crying

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