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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. snap — to click
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — to come down
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. root — of a word
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. land — ground
  21. root — the cause
  22. land — a country
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cell — a phone

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