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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: bass · wound · rash · hide · craft · arm · bat · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rash — hasty
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. track — a song
  14. craft — boats
  15. bass — low music
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bat — the animal
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. hide — to keep secret

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