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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. present — there
  3. tear — from crying
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. present — the time now
  9. snap — to click
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. present — a gift
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bass — the fish
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wind — moving air
  24. date — on the calendar

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