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

Word bank: squash · band · tear · dip · row · wind · pop · fine

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wind — moving air
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — to crush
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — from crying
  8. band — a music group
  9. tear — from crying
  10. squash — the sport
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fine — all right
  14. row — a line
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pop — soda
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. row — to paddle
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. fine — high quality

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