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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. cold — an illness
  4. band — a music group
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fall — the season
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. band — a ring
  10. fall — to drop
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. net — for catching
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. net — after costs
  15. fall — to drop
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. net — in sport
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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