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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cold — not warm
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bass — low music
  9. staff — employees
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. cue — a signal
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. staff — employees
  17. date — the fruit
  18. staff — a stick
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. march — the month
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. straw — dry grass

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