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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: bass · content · wind · row · coach · staff · rock · bat

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bat — the animal
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. staff — employees
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. rock — a stone
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rock — music
  11. row — to paddle
  12. content — happy
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the fish
  22. content — the amount
  23. row — a line
  24. staff — a stick

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