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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bass — low music
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. season — of the year
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bass — the fish
  12. wound — an injury
  13. season — in sport
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. wound — an injury

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