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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. tear — to rip
  3. march — the month
  4. tear — from crying
  5. track — to keep track
  6. present — the time now
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fall — the season
  10. march — music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — to crush
  15. track — a song
  16. present — there
  17. track — a path
  18. fall — to drop
  19. club — for golf
  20. march — the month
  21. club — a group
  22. fall — to drop
  23. squash — the sport
  24. present — a gift

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