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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bass — low music
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — help
  7. content — happy
  8. charge — a price
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. shower — to wash
  13. charge — electricity
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. bore — to drill
  17. charge — in control
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bore — to tire
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. tear — to rip
  24. content — the amount

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