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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: kid · object · bay · racket · wind · bass · fork · content

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. content — the amount
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kid — to tease
  6. object — to protest
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bass — the fish
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bass — low music
  15. kid — child
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. object — a thing
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. object — an aim
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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