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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. firm — a company
  3. bore — to drill
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — from crying
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bore — to tire
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. firm — steady
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. firm — decided
  17. clip — a video
  18. bass — the fish
  19. tear — to rip
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. squash — the sport
  24. tear — from crying

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