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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 · club · race · wind · ground · hide · fan · sharp

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. club — for golf
  4. bass — the fish
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. club — a group
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. club — for dancing
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. race — a contest
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — crushed
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. race — humankind
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ground — a position
  23. bass — low music
  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