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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: wind · pitch · bark · snap · row · rush · bass · ground

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. row — a line
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pitch — completely
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bark — to shout
  20. ground — a position
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. row — to paddle
  23. snap — to click
  24. bark — of a tree

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