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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mark — a grade
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spell — magic
  18. snap — to click
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. bass — low music
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. race — humankind
  24. mark — a trace

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