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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pop — soda
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bear — the animal
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. game — a match
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. pop — music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bear — the animal
  24. game — a kind of play

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