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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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Word bank
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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: tear · net · lie · pop · date · straw · cap · sharp

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pop — music
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — a lid
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. net — after costs
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pop — soda
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — a hat
  17. net — for catching
  18. lie — to recline
  19. net — in sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. date — on the calendar

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