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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bass — low music
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. rash — a series
  6. pitch — completely
  7. file — a document
  8. rash — hasty
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. file — a tool
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. hand — help
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. hand — part of the body

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