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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hide · bass · court · wind · ground · staff · pitcher · jam

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of law
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. court — of a king
  15. ground — a position
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — for sport
  22. staff — employees
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. staff — employees

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