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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bass — low music
  11. band — a music group
  12. mark — a trace
  13. band — a ring
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. date — the fruit
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. mark — a grade
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pop — music
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pop — soda

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