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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chest — a box
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kid — child
  24. bass — the instrument

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