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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: club · rock · straw · snap · scale · pop · bass · capital

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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. rock — to move gently
  3. snap — to click
  4. scale — in music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pop — soda
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rock — a stone
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. rock — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. pop — music
  18. bass — low music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. scale — size or range

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