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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: race · sharp · perch · snap · plane · bass · trunk · mine

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. race — humankind
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. perch — the fish
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. race — a contest
  18. mine — for digging
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. race — the arms race
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  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