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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. spring — the season
  11. snap — to click
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cap — of ice
  16. spring — of water
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bass — low music
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bass — the fish
  21. land — ground
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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