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

Word bank: fan · bass · file · snap · pound · wax · vault · wake

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wax — to grow
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. snap — to click
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. file — a tool
  11. vault — a safe
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. file — a line of people
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bass — the fish
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. file — a document
  24. pound — to hit hard

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