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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. kid — child
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — rain
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bass — low music
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tear — to rip
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wind — to turn a key

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