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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 124 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bass — low music
  4. snap — to click
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. present — there
  7. face — to confront
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bass — the fish
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. game — a match
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. mug — a face
  21. pit — a hole
  22. fork — in a road
  23. face — part of the head
  24. game — wild animals

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