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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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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: wake · chest · racket · bank · wind · content · pop · bass

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bank — of a river
  4. content — happy
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chest — a box
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bass — low music

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