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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stem — to come from
  7. last — to go on
  8. bass — low music
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. swing — in golf
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. rock — music
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. last — final
  16. swing — music
  17. last — finally
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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