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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: board · game · lean · kick · last · pop · cold · bass

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. last — finally
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pop — music
  5. board — to get on
  6. pop — soda
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — not warm
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. board — a committee
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kick — in football
  15. last — to go on
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. game — wild animals
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. last — final
  24. game — a match

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