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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 120 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wind — moving air
  5. snap — to click
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. drill — army training
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cap — a hat
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cap — of ice
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cap — a lid
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bass — the fish

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