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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. snap — to click
  7. bat — the animal
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. rush — hurry
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. 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