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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — from crying
  3. current — happening now
  4. bass — low music
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chest — a box
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bass — the fish
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — a safe
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. chest — of your body

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