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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: cabinet · wound · lie · straw · bark · bass · cold · wind

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cold — an illness
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bass — low music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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