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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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 click
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. face — to confront
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. bass — low music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bass — the fish
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. spell — letters
  18. fall — to drop
  19. face — part of the head
  20. fall — the season
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. fall — to drop
  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