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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: cold · wave · fork · pitcher · bay · mug · bass · trunk

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bass — the fish
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mug — a face
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cold — an illness
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. mug — to rob
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mug — a cup
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fork — in a road
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bass — low music

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