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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. craft — boats
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bass — low music
  6. chest — a box
  7. snap — to click
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. tube — a container
  20. craft — a skill
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. dip — to sink
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. dip — to dunk

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