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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. charge — a price
  3. mug — a cup
  4. staff — employees
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. staff — employees
  7. spring — of water
  8. staff — a stick
  9. field — a subject
  10. mug — to rob
  11. charge — electricity
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bass — low music
  14. spring — the season
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. spring — a coil
  17. charge — in control
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. field — for sport
  20. bass — the fish
  21. field — farmland
  22. mug — a face
  23. dip — to sink
  24. snap — to click

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