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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · patient · cabinet · wake · row · snap · face · trunk

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bass — low music
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bass — the fish
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. face — part of the head
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. wake — a trail
  15. row — a line
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. face — to confront
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. face — to point toward
  24. row — to paddle

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