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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.

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: chest · bass · wind · track · tube · lash · object · hand

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bass — the fish
  6. chest — of your body
  7. object — a thing
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. object — an aim
  12. bass — low music
  13. object — to protest
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. track — a path
  18. chest — a box
  19. wind — moving air
  20. track — a song
  21. hand — in cards
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. hand — help
  24. track — to keep track

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