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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. last — to go on
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mate — a partner
  5. spell — a short time
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bass — the fish
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. kick — in football
  11. mate — a friend
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. spell — letters
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mate — to breed
  17. snap — to click
  18. spell — magic

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