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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 120 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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. fall — the season
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mine — for digging
  14. spell — magic
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pound — a weight
  18. spell — a short time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spell — letters
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pound — to hit hard

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