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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: cabinet · bass · kid · wind · row · stock · bound · foot

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bound — certain
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. foot — a measure
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bass — low music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. row — a line
  17. stock — shares
  18. kid — child
  19. bass — the fish
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bound — obliged
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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