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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. deal — to handle
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cap — a hat
  24. arm — part of the body

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