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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. spell — letters
  7. chair — a leader
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bass — low music
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rush — hurry
  13. ground — a position
  14. spell — a short time
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spell — magic
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. kick — a thrill

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