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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pop — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pop — soda
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — rain
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bear — the animal
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chair — a leader
  18. shower — to wash
  19. tear — to rip
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bear — the animal

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