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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. lean — to bend
  3. net — in sport
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bass — the fish
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — after costs
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — for catching
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bass — low music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rest — a break
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rest — what's left

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