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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. rest — what's left
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bore — to drill
  7. stock — shares
  8. bore — to tire
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bass — the fish
  12. rest — a break
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — child
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. cap — a lid
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cap — of ice
  24. shower — to wash

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