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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 120 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: bass · pop · hand · fan · wind · content · wave · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pop — to visit
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wind — moving air
  11. content — happy
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pop — music
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. hand — help
  19. pop — soda
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wind — moving air
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bass — low music
  24. content — the amount

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