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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: shower · trunk · snap · bass · pop · bound · fine · land

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. fine — high quality
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bound — certain
  6. shower — rain
  7. land — a country
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pop — music
  12. fine — all right
  13. bound — tied together
  14. snap — to click
  15. pop — to visit
  16. land — to come down
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — the fish
  21. land — ground
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bound — obliged
  24. pop — soda

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