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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. ball — a dance
  3. season — of the year
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. bass — low music
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. season — in sport
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — electric
  11. snap — to click
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. current — of water
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. ball — a great time
  23. last — final
  24. pitch — a sports field

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