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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chip — to eat
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bass — low music
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bass — the fish
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wake — a trail
  16. chip — for betting
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. tear — from crying
  21. face — to confront
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bass — the instrument
  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