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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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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. snap — to click
  4. last — final
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mark — a trace
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mark — a grade
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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