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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: rash · wound · rush · cold · perch · charge · bass · swing

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wound — an injury
  4. charge — a price
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cold — not warm
  7. perch — the fish
  8. charge — in control
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. swing — music
  12. rash — hasty
  13. swing — to play on
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wound — an injury
  19. charge — electricity
  20. rash — a series
  21. swing — in golf
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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