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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a match
  4. race — a contest
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tear — from crying
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. ball — a great time
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. race — humankind
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tear — to rip
  15. spring — the season
  16. race — the arms race
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bass — the fish
  22. ball — a dance
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spring — of water

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