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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: pit · snap · shower · wound · trunk · racket · bass · season

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bass — the fish
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. snap — to click
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. season — in sport
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. season — of the year
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pit — in a race
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bass — low music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pit — a hole
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wound — an injury
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. shower — rain
  24. racket — for tennis

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