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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chest — a box
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bass — low music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mate — a friend
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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