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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bass — the fish
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bass — low music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fall — the season
  16. can — a tin
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. can — to be able to
  21. perch — the fish
  22. can — a tin
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fall — to drop

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