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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. snap — to click
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. staff — employees
  9. fine — all right
  10. bass — low music
  11. staff — a stick
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bass — the fish
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mine — for digging
  16. scale — in music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. staff — employees
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. scale — size or range

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