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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: pop · object · stick · file · ground · chest · tear · mug

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. chest — of your body
  8. object — an aim
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mug — to rob
  11. file — a line of people
  12. tear — to rip
  13. ground — the earth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a tool
  16. mug — a face
  17. chest — a box
  18. ground — a position
  19. mug — a cup
  20. object — to protest
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. file — a document
  23. object — a thing
  24. ground — crushed

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