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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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Word bank
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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 · cabinet · shower · wake · face · hide · bass · ground

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ground — the earth
  3. face — to confront
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tear — to rip
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bass — the fish
  11. face — to point toward
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. shower — rain
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. face — part of the head
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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