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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. plane — a tool
  4. field — for sport
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. sharp — clever
  7. snap — to click
  8. bound — obliged
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bound — certain
  12. field — a subject
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. field — farmland
  17. bound — tied together
  18. sharp — with an edge

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