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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pop — to visit
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rock — music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. spring — the season
  14. bat — the animal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pop — soda
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. spring — of water
  19. rock — a stone
  20. saw — the tool
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. tear — from crying
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rock — to move gently

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