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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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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: content · bass · snap · vault · wind · spring · board · shower

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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. board — to get on
  4. board — a committee
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. content — happy
  11. spring — a coil
  12. snap — to click
  13. spring — the season
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. shower — rain
  16. vault — a safe
  17. spring — of water
  18. content — the amount
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wind — moving air
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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