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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. charge — a price
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mate — to breed
  5. drill — army training
  6. craft — a skill
  7. charge — in control
  8. cold — not warm
  9. craft — boats
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. land — a country
  12. drill — the tool
  13. land — ground
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bass — the fish
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mate — a partner
  19. cold — an illness
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. land — to come down
  22. mate — a friend
  23. charge — electricity
  24. snap — to click

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