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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pop — to visit
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pop — music
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. tear — to rip
  11. field — a subject
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bass — the fish
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. field — farmland
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pop — soda
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. field — for sport
  23. drill — army training
  24. vault — a safe

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