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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. snap — to click
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bank — of a river
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. ground — crushed
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. ground — a position
  10. rule — a law
  11. bass — low music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — the fish
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bank — for money
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. rule — government
  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