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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 120 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bass — the fish
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bass — low music
  6. stem — to come from
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. squash — to crush
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. clip — a video
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. squash — the sport

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