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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: hand · rock · net · bass · safe · sharp · lash · spring

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. rock — music
  3. sharp — clever
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bass — low music
  7. spring — of water
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. rock — a stone
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. net — in sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. spring — the season
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bass — the fish
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. hand — help
  24. bass — the instrument

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