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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: fork · kid · hand · wake · lie · stock · hide · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. lie — to recline
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stock — goods
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — help
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wake — a trail
  14. kid — child
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. hide — animal skin

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