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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 120 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 wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spell — magic
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hand — help
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. club — for dancing
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — low music
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spell — letters
  17. fall — the season
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — a group
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pass — a permit

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