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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pop — to visit
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tear — from crying
  5. object — a thing
  6. cold — an illness
  7. roll — a list
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — to protest
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pop — soda
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bass — low music
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kid — child
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. roll — a cake

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