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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 116 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: ruler · lean · cold · bass · file · mouse · kick · rash

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rash — a series
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lean — thin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rash — hasty
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. lean — to bend
  17. file — a document
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cold — the Cold War

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