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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pop — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fall — the season
  6. rock — music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — soda
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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