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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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468
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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cell — in biology
  5. club — a group
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bass — low music
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cell — a phone
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — for golf
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tube — a container
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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