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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. charge — electricity
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. race — the arms race
  12. charge — a price
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. race — a contest
  16. last — to go on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. shower — rain
  19. race — humankind
  20. bass — low music
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. cold — not warm
  24. charge — in control

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