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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bass — low music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fall — to drop
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fall — the season
  21. pit — in a race
  22. spring — the season
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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