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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. tear — from crying
  4. present — there
  5. saw — the tool
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. tear — to rip
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bore — to drill
  12. band — a ring
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. band — a music group
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bore — to tire
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bass — low music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. present — the time now
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. present — a gift

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