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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. firm — steady
  5. rash — a series
  6. firm — decided
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. bass — low music
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. spring — the season
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — not warm
  13. clip — for paper
  14. firm — a company
  15. clip — a video
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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