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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: present · trunk · pop · chest · bass · snap · squash · pitch

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. pop — music
  3. snap — to click
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pop — soda
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pop — to visit
  10. chest — a box
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. squash — to crush
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bass — the fish
  18. chest — of your body
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. present — a gift
  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