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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. swing — in golf
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — a break
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fall — the season
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. swing — music
  20. lean — thin
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bass — low music

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