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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wake — a trail
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bass — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bass — low music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. shower — rain
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tear — from crying
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. face — to confront
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tear — to rip
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. face — part of the head

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