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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: fine · wind · stick · kid · bass · arm · shower · pop

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fine — all right
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pop — music
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pop — to visit
  17. kid — child
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bass — low music
  22. pop — soda
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — rain

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