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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. board — to get on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bass — low music
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cold — an illness
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kid — child
  23. board — a committee
  24. cold — the Cold War

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