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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — low music
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. tear — from crying
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a document
  11. mate — a friend
  12. field — a subject
  13. mate — to breed
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. file — a tool
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. file — a line of people
  21. field — farmland
  22. tear — to rip
  23. field — for sport
  24. lean — thin

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