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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wound — an injury
  5. snap — to click
  6. rock — a stone
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pop — soda
  9. bass — the fish
  10. net — for catching
  11. bass — low music
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pop — music
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. ball — a great time
  22. net — after costs
  23. rock — music
  24. spring — the season

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