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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. land — a country
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. suit — to fit
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. charge — in control
  7. land — ground
  8. clip — a video
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bass — the fish
  11. charge — a price
  12. snap — to click
  13. suit — clothes
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bass — low music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — to come down
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. charge — electricity
  21. board — to get on
  22. suit — in cards
  23. board — a committee
  24. straw — a straw man

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