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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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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tear — from crying
  4. land — ground
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. shower — rain
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. present — the time now
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. present — a gift
  16. bass — the fish
  17. tear — to rip
  18. land — a country
  19. present — there
  20. drill — a practice
  21. land — to come down
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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