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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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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: snap · bark · shower · wake · court · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. court — for sport
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. shower — rain
  10. bark — to shout
  11. snap — to click
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wake — a trail
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. court — of law

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