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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 120 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: bass · net · wind · wound · can · vault · file · last

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — the fish
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a document
  8. wound — an injury
  9. can — a tin
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. net — after costs
  15. can — a tin
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. vault — a safe
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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