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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bass — low music
  4. wake — a trail
  5. kid — child
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — not warm
  11. swing — in golf
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. swing — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. march — the month
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. march — music
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. swing — to play on

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