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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 120 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cue — a signal
  12. can — a tin
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. march — the month
  17. cue — a hint
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — the month
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. march — music

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