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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pit — a hole
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. snap — to click
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. fall — the season
  13. track — a path
  14. pit — in a race
  15. bass — low music
  16. ground — a position
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. mine — an explosive

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