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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bound — certain
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pass — a permit
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rash — a series
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bass — low music
  11. bound — tied together
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bound — obliged
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. trunk — of a tree

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