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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. foot — a measure
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bass — low music
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rush — hurry
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cold — an illness
  22. object — a thing
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. chest — a box

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