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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 116 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: wound · chair · bass · rash · staff · spring · bat · lie

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rash — a series
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bass — the fish
  10. spring — of water
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bass — low music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. staff — employees
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. rash — hasty
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. spring — the season
  24. lie — an untruth

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