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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 120 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: file · firm · cold · fork · wound · season · bass · rush

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. rush — hurry
  6. file — a document
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — a company
  10. bass — the fish
  11. firm — decided
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bass — low music
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. file — a tool
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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