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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wound — an injury
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bass — the fish
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. net — in sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wound — an injury
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. race — a contest

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