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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · arm · content · bass · lie · cold · cabinet · swing

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. tear — to rip
  6. content — the amount
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. swing — in golf
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bass — the fish
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — low music
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. swing — music

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