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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cap — of ice
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bass — low music
  5. mug — a face
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. tear — to rip
  8. land — a country
  9. cap — a hat
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bass — the fish
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — to rob
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. snap — to click
  24. bass — the instrument

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