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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. firm — a company
  6. bass — the fish
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rash — a series
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — to cut
  14. shower — rain
  15. clip — a video
  16. firm — steady
  17. clip — for paper
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. firm — decided
  24. rash — on the skin

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