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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — low music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — in cards
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. race — a contest
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. season — in sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. race — the arms race
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. race — humankind
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bat — the animal

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