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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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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: fine · spell · face · snap · race · tube · bass · cold

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bass — the fish
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. spell — letters
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fine — all right
  10. spell — magic
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. tube — the underground
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. face — to point toward
  21. tube — a container
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. race — a contest
  24. face — to confront

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