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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bass — low music
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. scale — in music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — to come down
  15. wind — moving air
  16. season — in sport
  17. land — ground
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mark — a trace
  22. season — of the year
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. land — a country

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