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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. row — a line
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — a weight
  5. snap — to click
  6. bass — low music
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cap — a lid
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pound — for dogs

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