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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. land — to come down
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wake — a trail
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bass — the fish
  8. land — a country
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. land — ground
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bass — low music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. deal — to handle
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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