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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. root — of a word
  5. bass — the fish
  6. wound — an injury
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. root — of a plant
  11. ball — a great time
  12. root — the cause
  13. fine — all right
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fine — high quality
  17. cold — an illness
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a dance
  22. snap — to click
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fine — a penalty

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