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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. capital — a city
  10. fine — high quality
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tube — the underground
  16. capital — money
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bass — low music
  20. fine — all right
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tube — a container
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fine — a penalty

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