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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. game — a match
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. rest — what's left
  7. march — the month
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bass — low music
  14. march — the month
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. march — music
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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