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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pass — a permit
  3. tear — to rip
  4. object — an aim
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — money
  14. pop — soda
  15. row — to paddle
  16. capital — a city
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. cell — a phone
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. row — a line

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