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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 124 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bound — tied together
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bound — certain
  6. file — a tool
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. row — to paddle
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bass — the fish
  14. ball — a dance
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. row — a line
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. file — a document
  22. fall — the season
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bass — low music

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