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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. spring — the season
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bass — low music
  11. pass — a permit
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. rash — a series
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. can — to be able to
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rash — hasty
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. can — a tin

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