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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · shower · coach · roll · mate · trunk · snap · swing

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bass — low music
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. mate — to breed
  7. roll — a cake
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a list
  12. snap — to click
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. swing — music
  18. mate — a partner
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bass — the fish
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. shower — rain
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. swing — in golf

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