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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — of water
  5. bass — low music
  6. firm — steady
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. swing — to play on
  11. firm — decided
  12. present — a gift
  13. spring — the season
  14. firm — a company
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. present — the time now
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bass — the fish
  20. present — there
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. swing — music

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