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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 124 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. scale — size or range
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — child
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lean — thin
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. scale — in music
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bass — low music

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