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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. firm — steady
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — a hat
  5. firm — a company
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chest — of your body
  10. scale — size or range
  11. chest — a box
  12. cap — a lid
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cap — of ice
  16. net — after costs
  17. firm — decided
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. tube — the underground
  21. scale — in music
  22. tube — a container
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tear — from crying

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