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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 116 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. file — a document
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. file — a tool
  6. bass — low music
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. clip — a video
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ground — a position
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. file — a line of people
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. deal — to handle
  20. ground — crushed
  21. season — of the year
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bass — the fish
  24. clip — to cut

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