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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rash — a series
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pop — music
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pop — to visit
  10. firm — decided
  11. spring — of water
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. shower — rain
  15. pop — soda
  16. firm — a company
  17. clip — a video
  18. cold — not warm
  19. firm — steady
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spring — the season
  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