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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: charge · calf · snap · bass · jam · mug · cold · row

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bass — low music
  3. mug — a face
  4. snap — to click
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. charge — electricity
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bass — the fish
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. cold — an illness
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. charge — a price
  18. row — a line
  19. charge — in control
  20. mug — a cup
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bass — the instrument

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