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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ground — a position
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mark — a trace
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — of law
  14. ground — the earth
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bass — low music
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. mark — a grade
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bass — the instrument

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