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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: wound · face · bass · fork · ground · craft · lie · kid

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bass — low music
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. face — part of the head
  10. craft — a skill
  11. kid — child
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bass — the fish
  17. craft — boats
  18. face — to confront
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. fork — in a road
  24. lie — an untruth

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