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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bass — low music
  5. track — a song
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bass — the fish
  14. squash — to crush
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. squash — the sport
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chip — for betting
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rash — a series

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