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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — a phone
  4. snap — to click
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. track — a path
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. rock — a stone
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cell — in a prison

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