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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fine — all right
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — in music
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — a publisher
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. shower — to wash
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. lash — an eyelash

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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