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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 have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bass — the fish
  3. capital — money
  4. last — finally
  5. rash — a series
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. rash — hasty
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fall — the season
  15. bass — low music
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. file — a line of people

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