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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. scale — size or range
  5. present — a gift
  6. scale — in music
  7. band — a ring
  8. drill — army training
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fine — high quality
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. face — to confront
  14. snap — to click
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. drill — a practice
  19. present — there
  20. face — part of the head
  21. drill — the tool
  22. present — the time now
  23. band — a music group
  24. face — to point toward

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