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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bass — the fish
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. ball — a dance
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stand — to bear
  10. cold — not warm
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bass — low music
  14. craft — a skill
  15. spring — the season
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — of water
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. ball — a great time
  24. stand — for spectators

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