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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. snap — to click
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bass — the fish
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. chair — a leader
  11. staff — employees
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. staff — employees
  15. fine — high quality
  16. staff — a stick
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. squash — the sport
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bass — low music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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