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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.

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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · march · bat · chest · lie · fan · bass · mouse

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bass — low music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. march — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. march — the month
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — the animal
  20. chest — a box
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mouse — the animal

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