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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — tied together
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. object — a thing
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. object — to protest
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bound — certain
  12. race — a contest
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chip — for betting
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — an illness
  18. object — an aim
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. chip — to eat
  22. race — humankind
  23. bass — low music
  24. chip — in a computer

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