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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 116 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: cold · squash · bass · bore · race · fan · pound · rock

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. race — a contest
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rock — a stone
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. bass — low music
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rock — music
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bass — the fish
  24. fan — a supporter

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