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

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. object — an aim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bass — low music
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bass — the fish

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