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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: dip · bass · wind · sharp · saw · snap · hand · bark

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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. hand — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bass — low music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — help
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bass — the fish
  11. snap — to click
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. hand — in cards
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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