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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. snap — to click
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. vault — a safe
  7. content — the amount
  8. game — a match
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. content — happy
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pass — a permit
  19. game — wild animals
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bass — low music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wound — an injury

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