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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: fork · rash · wound · court · bass · calf · dip · tear

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. court — of a king
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rash — hasty
  8. court — of law
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rash — a series
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. tear — from crying
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. tear — from crying
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. court — for sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. dip — to sink

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