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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — from crying
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mine — for digging
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fall — to drop
  18. drill — army training
  19. fall — the season
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fall — to drop
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. dip — to dunk

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