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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bass — low music
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. shower — rain
  10. mug — a face
  11. game — a match
  12. ground — a position
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ground — the earth
  18. club — for golf
  19. fall — the season
  20. club — a group
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. club — for dancing
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bass — the fish

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