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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: cue · bass · snap · pound · calf · coach · file · spring

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. file — a tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. snap — to click
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. bass — the fish
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spring — of water
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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