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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — a grade
  3. suit — clothes
  4. band — a music group
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. snap — to click
  7. present — there
  8. cold — an illness
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. present — the time now
  12. mark — a trace
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. present — a gift
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. suit — in cards
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. suit — to fit
  23. net — after costs
  24. mine — for digging

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