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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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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: race · band · fall · lean · bass · drill · squash · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. drill — army training
  3. race — the arms race
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a music group
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. snap — to click
  9. fall — the season
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bass — the fish
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. lean — thin
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. band — a ring
  18. lean — to bend
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bass — low music
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fall — to drop

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