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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rash — a series
  3. bass — the fish
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. current — of water
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. current — electric
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. current — happening now
  13. bass — low music
  14. fall — the season
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. band — a ring
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fall — to drop
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fall — to drop

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