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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hand — help
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a cake
  6. track — to keep track
  7. tear — from crying
  8. track — a song
  9. snap — to click
  10. track — a path
  11. tear — to rip
  12. hand — in cards
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bass — the fish
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bass — low music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. roll — a list
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. jam — a tight spot

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