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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — from crying
  6. season — in sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — a match
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. scale — in music
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. scale — size or range
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. game — wild animals
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wound — an injury

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