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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. object — to protest
  10. band — a music group
  11. ball — a dance
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ball — a great time
  14. snap — to click
  15. object — a thing
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. band — a ring
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bass — low music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bass — the fish

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