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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: can · chest · hide · swing · lash · race · bass · wind

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. race — humankind
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. race — a contest
  6. swing — music
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — a box
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. wind — moving air
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bass — low music
  20. can — to be able to
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bass — the fish
  23. swing — in golf
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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