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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. present — there
  3. file — a document
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wound — an injury
  12. band — a music group
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tear — from crying
  15. present — a gift
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. band — a ring
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a line of people
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — low music
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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