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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fork — in a road
  4. cold — not warm
  5. race — humankind
  6. firm — a company
  7. tear — from crying
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. race — a contest
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. kid — child
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. race — the arms race
  24. tear — to rip

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