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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. chip — to eat
  5. saw — the tool
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — a city
  10. bass — low music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. current — of water
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — the fish
  15. current — happening now
  16. march — the month
  17. current — electric
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — in a computer

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