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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. firm — decided
  3. rash — hasty
  4. last — final
  5. bass — low music
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. firm — a company
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. rash — a series
  13. last — to go on
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. firm — steady
  17. cap — a hat
  18. march — the month
  19. last — finally
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cap — a lid

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