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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 · rock · bear · present · squash · staff · ground · fall

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. present — there
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. ground — crushed
  5. staff — employees
  6. rock — music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tear — to rip
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. present — a gift
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bear — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. present — the time now
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rock — a stone

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