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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — from crying
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. firm — steady
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hand — help
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — low music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — a company
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bass — the fish
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bass — the instrument

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