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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a committee
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wind — moving air
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bass — the fish
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bass — low music
  16. board — to get on
  17. drill — army training
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. cold — the Cold War

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