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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bass — low music
  4. last — to go on
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitch — completely
  7. lean — to bend
  8. last — finally
  9. land — a country
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lean — thin
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. chest — a box
  17. spell — a short time
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. last — final
  20. spell — letters
  21. land — to come down
  22. spell — magic
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. land — ground

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