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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: sharp · cold · nail · content · ruler · bass · rush · chair

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. content — the amount
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. content — happy
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chair — a leader
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rush — hurry
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cold — an illness
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cold — not warm
  22. sharp — clever
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ruler — for measuring

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