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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: toast · spring · dip · bass · ball · snap · file · mate

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. spring — the season
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. snap — to click
  5. spring — of water
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. file — a document
  9. mate — to breed
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bass — the fish
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. toast — bread
  15. mate — a partner
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. file — a tool
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bass — low music
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. dip — to sink

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