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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 116 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: cell · bass · snap · march · racket · spell · trunk · sharp

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. march — the month
  4. bass — the fish
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. march — the month
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. spell — magic
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. snap — to click
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. march — music
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cell — a phone
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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