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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: bay · hide · wind · row · key · cold · bass · bear

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bass — low music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bear — to put up with

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