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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. row — a line
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ground — the earth
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. can — to be able to
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. can — a tin
  21. ground — a position
  22. can — a tin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a quarrel

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