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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: patient · wind · prune · bore · hide · snap · bat · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. prune — to trim
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. snap — to click
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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