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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. key — in music
  3. object — to protest
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. march — the month
  14. staff — a stick
  15. object — a thing
  16. bass — low music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. key — the most important part
  19. staff — employees
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. object — an aim
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cold — the Cold War

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