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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. fall — the season
  6. deal — to handle
  7. pop — soda
  8. chip — for betting
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pop — music
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. wound — an injury
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bass — the fish
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fall — to drop
  23. snap — to click
  24. pop — to visit

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