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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rock — a stone
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rule — a law
  11. content — the amount
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rule — government
  15. bass — low music
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. tear — from crying

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