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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pop — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. current — electric
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. current — of water
  13. game — a match
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. current — happening now
  16. game — wild animals
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — to visit

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