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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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468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kid — child
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. fall — the season
  21. bass — low music
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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