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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. wind — moving air
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. saw — the tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. ball — a dance
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. race — humankind
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bass — the fish
  18. swing — music
  19. race — a contest
  20. saw — the tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. race — the arms race
  23. shower — rain
  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