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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a ring
  6. game — a match
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. band — a music group
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chest — a box
  18. bass — low music
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. fan — to cool the air

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