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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 120 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bass — the fish
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bass — low music
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. scale — in music
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. scale — size or range
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mine — for digging

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