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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 120 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 · mark · chest · hide · stand · prune · bass · cap

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bass — low music
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chest — a box
  7. cap — a lid
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. mark — a grade
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — a hat
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bass — the fish
  21. stand — to bear
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cap — of ice
  24. chest — of your body

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