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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rash — a series
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bass — the fish
  9. shower — rain
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. deal — to handle
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bass — low music
  19. staff — a stick
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. deal — an agreement

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