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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 120 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: lie · deal · bass · chest · pop · wound · cold · club

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chest — a box
  3. pop — soda
  4. bass — low music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pop — music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. club — a group
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wound — an injury
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. lie — to recline
  19. pop — to visit
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wound — an injury

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