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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to click
  5. bass — the fish
  6. club — for dancing
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. land — ground
  11. club — for golf
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tube — the underground
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. perch — the fish
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bass — low music
  19. land — a country
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tube — a container
  22. land — to come down
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. degree — an amount

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