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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. club — a group
  3. land — to come down
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bass — low music
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — ground
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — a thing
  16. land — a country
  17. object — to protest
  18. club — for golf
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bass — the fish
  23. clip — a video
  24. tear — to rip

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