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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: mug · bass · board · face · shower · snap · ball · pop

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pop — to visit
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pop — soda
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bass — low music
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. face — part of the head
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. board — to get on
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pop — music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — to rob
  19. board — a committee
  20. face — to confront
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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