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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pop — soda
  6. chest — a box
  7. rest — a break
  8. cold — not warm
  9. last — finally
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. present — a gift
  12. last — final
  13. pop — music
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bass — the fish
  23. last — to go on
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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