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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.

Make a worksheet

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: content · mine · bass · deal · fall · cold · object · lash

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fall — the season
  5. bass — low music
  6. object — a thing
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cold — not warm
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. object — to protest
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. object — an aim
  20. fall — to drop
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. content — happy
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bass — the fish

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