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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: bowl · bass · ball · patient · fall · band · cold · fork

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. band — a ring
  18. fall — the season
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. band — a rubber band

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