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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. last — to go on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bass — the fish
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ball — a great time
  16. toast — bread
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. bass — low music
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cell — in a prison

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