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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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 — the instrument
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. land — to come down
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rash — a series
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bass — low music
  13. land — ground
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. land — a country
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rash — hasty
  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