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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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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: bass · tube · snap · chest · net · fine

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. fine — all right
  3. snap — to click
  4. tube — a container
  5. chest — of your body
  6. net — after costs
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. chest — a box
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bass — the fish
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. tube — the underground

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