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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. row — a line
  3. tear — from crying
  4. season — in sport
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — to bend
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bass — low music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bass — the fish
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lean — thin
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — to paddle
  23. season — of the year
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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