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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · kid · fine · cold · chest · wound · can · club

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. kid — child
  5. bass — low music
  6. chest — a box
  7. bass — the fish
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wound — an injury
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. club — for golf
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — high quality
  22. wound — an injury
  23. club — a group
  24. bass — the instrument

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