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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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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: rule · firm · cold · ground · bass · spell · last · lean

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rule — government
  4. lean — thin
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. spell — letters
  8. ground — the earth
  9. spell — a short time
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — decided
  12. spell — magic
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. last — final
  16. ground — a position
  17. lean — to bend
  18. firm — a company
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. last — to go on
  22. bass — the fish
  23. firm — steady
  24. lean — to rest against

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