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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: leaves · content · row · straw · prune · bass · kick · wind

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. row — a line
  9. wind — moving air
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — the amount
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bass — low music
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. straw — a straw man

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