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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mate — to breed
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bound — certain
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — not warm
  17. snap — to click
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mine — for digging
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. stand — for spectators

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