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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. deal — to handle
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. last — final
  8. cold — not warm
  9. last — to go on
  10. squash — the sport
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. last — finally
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. squash — to crush
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bass — low 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