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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. shower — rain
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — a trail
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bass — low music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tear — to rip
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. lie — to recline
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. racket — for tennis

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