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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cue — a signal
  5. last — final
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bass — low music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — the arms race
  14. last — finally
  15. race — humankind
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. last — to go on
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cue — for pool
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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