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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · hand · trunk · fall · mug · wind · straw · patient

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. hand — help
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fall — the season
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — the fish
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fall — to drop
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. mug — to rob
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. patient — a sick person

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