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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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 snap out of it
  2. capital — a city
  3. snap — to click
  4. bass — low music
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. last — finally
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — to go on
  11. capital — money
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. race — humankind
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bass — the fish
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. race — the arms race
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. race — a contest
  23. last — final
  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