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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bass — low music
  3. snap — to click
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. tube — a container
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cold — not warm
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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