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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bank — of a river
  5. rash — a series
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bass — low music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. race — humankind
  12. bass — the fish
  13. rash — hasty
  14. race — a contest
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. rest — a break
  19. mate — to breed
  20. squash — to crush
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. mate — a partner
  24. squash — the vegetable

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