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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cold — an illness
  3. race — humankind
  4. bass — low music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. race — the arms race
  14. swing — music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. land — ground
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bass — the fish
  19. race — a contest
  20. land — a country
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. land — to come down

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