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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 · ball · wind · trunk · ground · last · pitcher · lie

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bass — low music
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. last — to go on
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ball — a dance
  12. last — final
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. lie — to recline
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bass — the fish
  21. ball — a great time
  22. last — finally
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. ground — crushed

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