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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · tear · firm · fall · rock · squash · pop · chest

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. rock — music
  3. squash — to crush
  4. firm — decided
  5. tear — from crying
  6. drill — a practice
  7. fall — to drop
  8. drill — army training
  9. pop — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. chest — a box
  12. pop — soda
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. tear — from crying
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. firm — steady
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rock — a stone
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fall — the season
  24. tear — to rip

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