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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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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: bay · bass · snap · coach · kid · sharp · club · wind

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. snap — to click
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. wind — moving air
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. kid — child
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bass — the fish
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bass — low music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. club — a group
  19. kid — to tease
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. club — for dancing
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wind — moving air

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