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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: cold · rock · game · deal · present · row · bass · rush

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rush — hurry
  3. game — a match
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — to paddle
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bass — low music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bass — the fish
  18. row — a line
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. present — there
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. game — a kind of play

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