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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. band — a music group
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bass — the fish
  8. spell — magic
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bass — low music
  11. wake — a trail
  12. band — a ring
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. race — the arms race
  16. spell — a short time
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. last — to go on
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. race — a contest
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. last — finally
  23. race — humankind
  24. spell — letters

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