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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bass — low music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. ground — crushed
  6. firm — decided
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — the fish
  12. firm — a company
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. ground — a position
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cold — an illness
  23. firm — steady
  24. ground — the earth

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