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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. kick — in football
  6. tear — to rip
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bass — low music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. spring — the season
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. hand — help
  16. ground — a position
  17. spring — of water
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bass — the fish
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. ground — the earth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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