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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 · rash · hand · pound · vault · jam · chair · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. hand — help
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rash — a series
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. hand — in cards
  16. vault — a safe
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. bass — low music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. pound — for dogs

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