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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 · sharp · pop · wax · snap · hand · band · vault

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. sharp — clever
  3. hand — in cards
  4. band — a ring
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. vault — a safe
  7. hand — help
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. snap — to click
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. band — a music group
  19. bass — low music
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pop — music
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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