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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. tear — from crying
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. chest — a box
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bound — obliged
  11. shower — rain
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bound — tied together
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — certain
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. shower — to wash
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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