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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: bat · dip · rash · tear · saw · bass · rush · cabinet

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. bass — low music
  3. rash — a series
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rash — hasty
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. dip — to sink
  23. saw — the tool
  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