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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bass — low music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pop — soda
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pop — to visit
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bound — certain
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fall — the season
  18. bound — tied together
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bass — the fish
  22. pop — music
  23. pitch — completely
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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