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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bass — the fish
  5. fall — to drop
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. object — an aim
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. dip — to sink
  14. object — a thing
  15. shower — rain
  16. fall — the season
  17. snap — to click
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bass — low music
  20. ground — crushed
  21. object — to protest
  22. fall — to drop
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. ground — a position

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