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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bass — the fish
  6. charge — in control
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bass — low music
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. charge — a price
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. charge — electricity
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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