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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. row — to paddle
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. row — a line
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. spell — letters
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bass — low music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bass — the fish
  22. spell — magic
  23. squash — to crush
  24. dip — to sink

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