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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 124 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bat — the animal
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. charge — a price
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. club — a group
  17. roll — a cake
  18. club — for golf
  19. mug — a face
  20. snap — to click
  21. charge — in control
  22. roll — a list
  23. chest — a box
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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