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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: plane · deal · sharp · snap · dip · bass · cold · fall

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bass — the fish
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. snap — to click
  12. dip — to sink
  13. sharp — clever
  14. deal — to handle
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. plane — an aircraft

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