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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cell — a phone
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rash — hasty
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. bass — low music
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. toast — bread
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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