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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. last — to go on
  5. lean — to bend
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ground — crushed
  8. last — finally
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. prune — to trim
  11. lean — thin
  12. deal — to handle
  13. tear — to rip
  14. last — final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. ground — the earth
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pitcher — a jug

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