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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · scale · land · hide · squash · bass · wind · bulb

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — to crush
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — a country
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. land — ground
  9. bulb — for light
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. land — to come down
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. scale — in music
  17. bulb — for light
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wind — moving air
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bass — low music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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