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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cold — not warm
  7. club — for dancing
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. club — a group
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. shower — rain
  15. bass — low music
  16. club — for golf
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rash — hasty
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cap — of ice
  24. wind — to turn a key

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