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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 120 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: fan · pound · tear · bass · track · game · can · sharp

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bass — low music
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. sharp — clever
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. can — a tin
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bass — the fish
  16. track — a song
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pound — a weight
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — a match
  23. can — a tin
  24. fan — a supporter

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