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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bass — the fish
  10. capital — a city
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. face — to confront
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. snap — to click
  16. face — to point toward
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bass — low music
  19. capital — money
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. face — part of the head

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