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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. object — an aim
  3. stand — to bear
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pop — to visit
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fall — to drop
  9. object — to protest
  10. key — in music
  11. squash — the sport
  12. key — the most important part
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pop — music
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. key — for a lock
  19. tear — from crying
  20. object — a thing
  21. pop — soda
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fall — the season

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