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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a document
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cold — an illness
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — the fish
  12. march — music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. march — the month
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. file — a tool
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — low music
  24. bear — the animal

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