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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: bass · chair · wave · wound · pitcher · cell · mug · snap

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mug — a face
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bass — the fish
  12. snap — to click
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bass — low music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. mug — to rob
  24. cell — a phone

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