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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. hand — help
  7. land — ground
  8. bass — low music
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. land — a country
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. deal — to handle
  13. land — to come down
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — not warm
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mouse — for 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