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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: jam · ground · bass · wake · cold · cue · cell · fall

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fall — the season
  9. bass — low music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — a position
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. cue — a signal
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cue — for pool
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bass — the fish
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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