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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. tear — to rip
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bass — low music
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. present — the time now
  13. pit — a hole
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bound — certain
  19. present — a gift
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bound — tied together
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mouse — the animal

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