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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: plane · wake · bass · spring · bear · chest · ground · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — in sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bass — low music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. chest — a box
  9. bass — the fish
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bear — the animal
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wake — a trail
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. net — after costs
  24. ground — the earth

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