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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. swing — in golf
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bass — the fish
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. swing — music
  18. ground — crushed
  19. scale — in music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. ground — a position

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