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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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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: bass · drill · cold · present · saw · rock · snap · mark

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bass — the fish
  6. drill — the tool
  7. present — the time now
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. cold — an illness
  11. present — there
  12. drill — a practice
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bass — low music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. present — a gift
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mark — a trace
  19. rock — a stone
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cold — not warm
  23. drill — army training
  24. mark — to pay attention

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