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

Word bank: perch · deal · wind · bass · jam · race · cold · content

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. race — a contest
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — the arms race
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — moving air
  13. deal — to handle
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — an illness
  17. race — humankind
  18. cold — not warm
  19. content — the amount
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. perch — the fish
  22. content — happy
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. jam — a tight spot

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