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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bass — low music
  4. kick — in football
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. band — a ring
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lie — to recline
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — decided
  12. row — a line
  13. bass — the fish
  14. firm — steady
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. band — a music group
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. firm — a company

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