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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. key — in music
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. row — to paddle
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. row — a line
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. mate — to breed
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. hide — to keep secret

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