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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pop — to visit
  6. squash — the sport
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chest — a box
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bass — low music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fine — high quality
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. fine — all right
  16. pop — soda
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pop — music
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cell — in biology

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