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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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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: bay · bass · band · mouse · march · cold · race · object

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. object — an aim
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — low music
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. object — a thing
  12. race — a contest
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. march — the month
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cold — not warm
  19. march — music
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. race — humankind
  22. bass — the fish
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. object — to protest

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