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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.

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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: fall · tear · fan · bass · land · swing · snap · mouse

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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. tear — from crying
  3. fall — to drop
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fall — the season
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. land — to come down
  11. swing — music
  12. tear — to rip
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. swing — in golf
  15. land — a country
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. land — ground
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. snap — to click
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bass — low music

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