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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · last · object · cap · cold · prune · stand · sharp

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. last — final
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stand — to bear
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cap — of ice
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. cap — a lid
  12. last — finally
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cap — a hat
  17. prune — to trim
  18. object — to protest
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bass — low music
  24. last — to go on

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