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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. march — music
  7. board — a committee
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. rock — a stone
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rush — hurry
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — an illness
  23. snap — to click
  24. rock — music

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