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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: chest · lash · snap · wake · bass · game · chair · sharp

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. game — a match
  16. sharp — clever
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chest — a box
  21. bass — low music
  22. snap — to click
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bass — the instrument

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