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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
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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: last · ball · snap · pop · file · fall · swing · bass

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. ball — a dance
  5. pop — soda
  6. file — a tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fall — the season
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. last — final
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fall — to drop
  15. snap — to click
  16. swing — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ball — a great time
  19. pop — to visit
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pop — music
  23. file — a document
  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