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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. object — a thing
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. shower — rain
  6. roll — a cake
  7. kid — child
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hand — in cards
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. object — an aim
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. hand — help
  17. roll — a list
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. object — to protest
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — the fish
  24. kid — to tease

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