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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bore — to drill
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. race — a contest
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bore — to tire
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. mine — for digging
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. cold — not warm
  23. race — humankind
  24. mine — an explosive

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