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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. plane — a tool
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. bass — the fish
  12. hand — help
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bass — low music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cabinet — ministers

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