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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 · bass · squash · present · bear · deal · march · mark

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. march — music
  5. present — a gift
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — an illness
  13. present — the time now
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mark — a grade
  18. present — there
  19. bear — the animal
  20. march — the month
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bear — the animal

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