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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: shower · bass · band · lash · pass · sharp · mate · wind

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mate — a friend
  3. band — a music group
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a ring
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. mate — to breed
  11. shower — rain
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bass — low music
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pass — a permit
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mate — a partner
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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