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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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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: mine · bank · rock · rash · bass · cold · pound · snap

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. rock — music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bank — for money
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bank — for money
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cold — not warm
  17. snap — to click
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bass — low music
  22. bank — of a river
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pound — a weight

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