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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pit — in a race
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mate — a friend
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bass — low music
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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