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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — of ice
  7. row — a line
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. band — a music group
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cap — a lid
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. band — a ring
  24. row — to paddle

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