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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: bass · cap · bay · chest · object · cold · kid · track

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — child
  3. object — a thing
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. chest — a box
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bass — the fish
  10. object — an aim
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cold — not warm
  19. object — to protest
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cap — a lid

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