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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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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bass — the fish
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bulb — for light
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. capital — a city
  8. chip — to eat
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chip — for betting
  20. capital — money
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chip — in a computer

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