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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. club — a group
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. club — for golf
  23. wound — an injury
  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