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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pound — a weight
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — a container
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — to play on
  16. key — for a lock
  17. swing — music
  18. bass — low music
  19. tear — from crying
  20. key — the most important part
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. swing — in golf
  24. key — in music

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