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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: race · bass · hand · ball · rest · tear · rash · wind

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. bass — the fish
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. race — a contest
  8. rest — a break
  9. ball — a great time
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rash — a series
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — humankind
  18. hand — help
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rest — what's left
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bass — low music

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