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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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. snap — to click
  3. bass — low music
  4. mark — a trace
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mate — a friend
  22. march — the month
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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