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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. spell — magic
  4. bass — the fish
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chair — a leader
  7. land — a country
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. land — to come down
  10. spell — letters
  11. current — electric
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cell — a phone
  15. land — ground
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. current — happening now
  18. plane — a tool
  19. current — of water
  20. cell — in biology
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. snap — to click
  24. chair — to sit on

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