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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. snap — to click
  5. spring — the season
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bass — low music
  11. can — a tin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bass — the fish
  16. spring — of water
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. can — a tin
  19. hand — help
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pop — to visit
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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