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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: net · wound · sharp · dip · chair · spring · bulb · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. spring — of water
  4. net — for catching
  5. dip — to sink
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bass — the fish
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wound — an injury

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