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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: lie · mate · cold · bass · march · rash · object · spell

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rash — hasty
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spell — letters
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. march — music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. rash — a series
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. lie — to recline
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spell — magic
  19. object — an aim
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — a short time
  23. march — the month
  24. object — a thing

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