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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 120 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: wind · mug · bat · row · bass · pop · kid · dip

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wind — moving air
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pop — soda
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mug — a cup
  14. kid — child
  15. mug — a face
  16. bass — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bass — low music
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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