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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pop — soda
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. net — after costs
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pop — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — the season
  15. net — for catching
  16. game — a match
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pop — to visit
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rock — music
  24. net — 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