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

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. shower — rain
  4. stock — shares
  5. bass — low music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. shower — to wash
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. spell — a short time
  11. snap — to click
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bass — the fish
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. spell — magic
  20. stock — goods
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wind — moving air
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. spell — letters

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