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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. stand — to bear
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cold — an illness
  8. club — for dancing
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spring — of water
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bass — low music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. face — to confront
  19. scale — in music
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. club — for golf
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. club — a group
  24. spring — a coil

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