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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. last — final
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. drill — the tool
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. capital — money
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. roll — a list
  14. capital — a city
  15. last — to go on
  16. foot — a measure
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. roll — a cake
  20. last — finally
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. capital — a big letter

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