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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pop — music
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. fall — the season
  5. current — happening now
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — of water
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pop — to visit
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bass — low music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — to drop
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pop — soda
  23. current — electric
  24. net — after costs

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