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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. season — of the year
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bass — the fish
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — music
  12. bass — low music
  13. tear — to rip
  14. swing — music
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. tear — from crying
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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