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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — a leader
  9. race — the arms race
  10. present — the time now
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. chip — to eat
  14. race — a contest
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. race — humankind
  22. chip — for betting
  23. present — there
  24. bass — the fish

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