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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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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: arm · cold · tear · bear · drill · sharp · firm · bass

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bass — low music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — an illness
  7. drill — army training
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. firm — a company
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. firm — decided
  13. tear — from crying
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bass — the fish
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cold — not warm
  22. firm — steady
  23. sharp — clever
  24. arm — part of the body

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