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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. can — a tin
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. can — to be able to
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — humankind
  14. rock — music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. can — a tin
  18. rock — a stone
  19. mine — for digging
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. race — the arms race

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