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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. snap — to click
  3. tear — to rip
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bass — low music
  8. lean — thin
  9. bass — the fish
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. ball — a dance
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. lean — to bend
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. ball — a great time
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. vault — a safe
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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