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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pop — soda
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cap — of ice
  9. tear — from crying
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. pop — music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — to handle
  23. hand — help
  24. tear — from crying

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