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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. kid — child
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wind — moving air
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bass — low music
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pitch — completely
  14. kid — to tease
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bank — for money
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bat — in an idiom

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