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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rule — government
  6. deal — to handle
  7. club — a group
  8. bound — obliged
  9. object — to protest
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bound — tied together
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. race — a contest
  19. rule — a law
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bound — certain
  22. race — humankind
  23. tear — from crying
  24. race — the arms race

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