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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. net — after costs
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. net — for catching
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bound — certain
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. net — in sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cabinet — ministers

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