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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bass — the fish
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bass — low music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. track — to keep track
  7. current — happening now
  8. track — a path
  9. staff — employees
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. track — a song
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. shower — rain
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. shower — to wash
  19. current — electric
  20. tear — to rip
  21. staff — employees
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. current — of water
  24. staff — a stick

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