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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. shower — rain
  7. bass — low music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. scale — size or range
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bound — tied together
  23. scale — in music
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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