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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. present — there
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. capital — money
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. shower — rain
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bass — low music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — to wash
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — not warm
  24. present — the time now

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