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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · bat · hide · coach · spell · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bass — low music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spell — letters
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — magic
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bass — the instrument

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