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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. hand — in cards
  7. last — to go on
  8. bound — obliged
  9. last — finally
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. last — final
  16. bass — low music
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wind — moving air
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. row — a line
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wind — moving air

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