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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: snap · suit · bass · roll · bowl · clip · wax · cell

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bass — the fish
  9. suit — in cards
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. roll — a cake
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wax — to grow
  15. clip — for paper
  16. suit — to fit
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bass — low music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to click
  23. clip — to cut
  24. roll — a list

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