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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — a list
  5. club — for golf
  6. fall — to drop
  7. track — a path
  8. tear — to rip
  9. track — a song
  10. perch — the fish
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — after costs
  13. rock — a stone
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fall — to drop
  16. track — to keep track
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. club — for dancing
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. net — in sport
  21. club — a group
  22. net — for catching
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. fall — the season

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