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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. pit — a hole
  4. band — a ring
  5. snap — to click
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pit — in a race
  14. band — a music group
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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