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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: dip · kid · wake · hand · wound · present · spring · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. present — a gift
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. dip — to sink
  5. present — there
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. kid — to tease
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — help
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wake — a trail
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bass — the fish
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. wound — an injury
  23. present — the time now
  24. spring — of water

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