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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. spring — of water
  9. band — a ring
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — the season
  14. bass — the fish
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. swing — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. file — a document
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bass — low music
  24. swing — to play on

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