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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bass — low music
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bear — the animal
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. scale — size or range
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. bass — the fish
  22. kick — in football
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. foot — a measure

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