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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 · land · last · bass · roll · bark · snap · perch

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. roll — a list
  3. bass — the fish
  4. last — final
  5. land — a country
  6. club — for golf
  7. land — ground
  8. bass — low music
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. club — a group
  11. perch — the fish
  12. last — finally
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. club — for dancing
  19. roll — a cake
  20. bark — to shout
  21. land — to come down
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. last — to go on

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