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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. race — humankind
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. race — a contest
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ground — a position
  20. game — wild animals
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. game — a match
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. race — the arms race

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