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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: bay · spring · wave · present · rest · wind · bass · court

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bass — low music
  6. rest — a break
  7. court — of a king
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. court — of law
  16. spring — the season
  17. present — the time now
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spring — of water
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. present — there
  24. court — for sport

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