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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. race — a contest
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. race — the arms race
  10. snap — to click
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. cell — a phone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. lean — thin
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stock — goods
  19. race — humankind
  20. shower — rain
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stock — shares

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