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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. toast — bread
  4. race — the arms race
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. race — a contest
  11. cold — an illness
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. capital — money
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. capital — a city
  21. race — humankind
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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