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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — to rip
  3. race — humankind
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bass — low music
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wind — moving air
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bass — the fish
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. tear — from crying
  18. perch — the fish
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. race — a contest
  21. stem — to come from
  22. tear — from crying
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stem — of a plant

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