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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: bark · straw · wound · bank · game · bass · plane · ground

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. game — wild animals
  5. plane — a tool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. ground — a position
  9. wound — an injury
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. game — a match
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bass — low music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bank — for money
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bank — for money
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bark — to shout

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