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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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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: branch · wake · cold · snap · bass · club · bark · pound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. bass — the fish
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wake — a trail
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bass — low music
  24. branch — of a bank

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