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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.

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: chair · firm · drill · bass · snap · spell · cold · fan

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bass — the fish
  3. firm — steady
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. drill — the tool
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spell — letters
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. drill — army training
  13. bass — low music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — a company
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. firm — decided
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. snap — to click
  24. chair — a professorship

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