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

Word bank: wind · hide · march · bass · straw · fall · bowl · rest

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rest — a break
  3. wind — moving air
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fall — the season
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bass — low music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. march — the month
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fall — to drop
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. march — music
  24. hide — to keep secret

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