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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 120 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. pit — a hole
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. branch — a division
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cold — not warm
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rash — a series
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wound — an injury
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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