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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bass — low music
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. fall — the season
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bass — the fish
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. pop — music
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — soda
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mug — a cup
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. mug — to rob
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mug — a face

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