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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. tear — from crying
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tube — a container
  9. fall — the season
  10. content — the amount
  11. tube — the underground
  12. race — a contest
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — music
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. content — happy
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. race — humankind
  22. fall — to drop
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pop — soda

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