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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bass — low music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rule — government
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rule — a law
  14. stock — shares
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. stock — goods
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cap — of ice
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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