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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. current — of water
  3. pop — to visit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spring — the season
  6. current — electric
  7. pop — soda
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. track — a song
  11. current — happening now
  12. spring — of water
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pop — music
  20. squash — to crush
  21. tear — from crying
  22. track — a path
  23. bat — the animal
  24. tear — to rip

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