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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pit — in a race
  6. land — ground
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. drill — army training
  10. dip — to sink
  11. tear — to rip
  12. swing — in golf
  13. squash — the sport
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pit — a hole
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bear — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. land — a country

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