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

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. last — final
  7. rock — music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. degree — temperature
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. kick — in football
  14. degree — an amount
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. tube — a container
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bass — low music
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. rock — a stone
  24. kid — child

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