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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: sharp · cold · dip · fan · band · kid · pitcher · bass

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — an illness
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. band — a music group
  7. bass — the fish
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. band — a ring
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. kid — child
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. fan — to cool the air

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