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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 120 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. rash — a series
  9. bat — the animal
  10. last — to go on
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bass — low music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bass — the fish
  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