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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: bass · straw · wax · wound · hand · ground · chip · bark

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ground — the earth
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bass — the fish
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hand — help
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bass — low music
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. hand — in cards
  21. ground — a position
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wax — for sculpting

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