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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: file · staff · tear · saw · cell · bass · wind · pitcher

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — employees
  6. saw — the tool
  7. staff — a stick
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — in biology
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. file — a line of people
  14. staff — employees
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. tear — to rip
  20. file — a tool
  21. cell — a phone
  22. file — a document
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bass — the fish

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