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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bass — low music
  3. staff — employees
  4. lean — to bend
  5. season — of the year
  6. bear — the animal
  7. clip — a video
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. pop — soda
  10. bass — the fish
  11. staff — a stick
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. staff — employees
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. lean — thin
  22. pop — music
  23. clip — to cut
  24. season — in sport

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