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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. march — music
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rash — a series
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. pit — a hole
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. ball — a great time
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bass — low music
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. craft — boats
  20. march — the month
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. march — the month
  23. branch — a division
  24. ball — a dance

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