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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bass — the fish
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — to trim
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bass — low music
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fine — all right
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fine — high quality
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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