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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wake — a trail
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bark — to shout
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fall — the season
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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