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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bass — the fish
  6. season — in sport
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. kid — child
  13. capital — a city
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bass — low music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. season — of the year
  21. kid — to tease
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fan — a supporter

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