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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wake · ground · branch · bass · plane · mouse · hand · foot

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. branch — a division
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. foot — a measure
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wake — a trail
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bass — the fish
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. ground — a position
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bass — low music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. plane — a tool

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