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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. firm — decided
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rash — a series
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. firm — a company
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. spell — letters
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bass — the fish
  16. spell — a short time
  17. kick — in football
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. row — a line
  22. spell — magic
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. firm — steady

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