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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. object — a thing
  4. tear — to rip
  5. object — to protest
  6. clip — a video
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. file — a document
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. file — a tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bound — tied together
  17. shower — rain
  18. clip — to cut
  19. chest — a box
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bound — certain
  22. chest — of your body
  23. object — an aim
  24. chest — of your body

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