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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: fall · bass · squash · kid · land · wind · leaves · pitcher

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fall — the season
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bass — the fish
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. land — a country
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bass — low music
  16. land — to come down
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — child
  22. land — ground
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pitcher — a jug

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