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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. net — for catching
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. net — after costs
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. ground — a position
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bass — low music
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ground — crushed
  19. net — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rush — hurry
  22. row — a line
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. rash — a series

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