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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. roll — a list
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wound — an injury
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. tear — from crying
  11. roll — a cake
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ball — a dance
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bass — low music
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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