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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. wind — moving air
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cap — of ice
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. swing — music
  19. shower — rain
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bass — the fish
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bass — low 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