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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bass — low music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — happening now
  5. band — a ring
  6. bass — the fish
  7. current — of water
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. kid — child
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. current — electric
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. band — a music group
  18. bass — the instrument

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