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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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468
Word bank
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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bass — low music
  3. row — a line
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mine — for digging
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. row — to paddle
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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