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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bear — the animal
  5. court — of a king
  6. drill — the tool
  7. file — a tool
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. ball — a dance
  16. court — of law
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. court — for sport
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bass — low music
  24. stand — for spectators

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