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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: race · bark · wake · snap · mouse · bass · ball · court

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ball — a dance
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. race — the arms race
  8. snap — to click
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bass — the fish
  18. ball — a great time
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bass — low music
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wake — a trail

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