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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 116 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: hand · bound · lash · rule · cold · lie · bass · net

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bass — low music
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cold — not warm
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bound — certain
  9. rule — government
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rule — a law
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. net — in sport
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. net — for catching
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. net — after costs
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bound — tied together
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rule — to rule out

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