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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bass — low music
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bass — the fish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. kid — child
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. tear — to rip
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mate — to breed

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