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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bass — low music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. branch — a division
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. pop — to visit
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pound — a weight
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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