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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. current — of water
  4. bass — the fish
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. firm — decided
  7. clip — a video
  8. firm — a company
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — the cause
  14. current — happening now
  15. cold — not warm
  16. tear — to rip
  17. current — electric
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — of a word
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. root — of a plant
  22. clip — to cut
  23. firm — steady
  24. cold — the Cold War

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