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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for dancing
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rush — hurry
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. tear — from crying
  21. club — for golf
  22. kick — in football
  23. club — a group
  24. bass — the fish

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