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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. 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. mark — to pay attention
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mark — a trace
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. net — after costs
  7. snap — to click
  8. mark — a grade
  9. ground — the earth
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. net — in sport
  13. dip — to sink
  14. last — final
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. last — finally
  17. net — for catching
  18. scale — in music
  19. last — to go on
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. ground — crushed
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ground — a position
  24. 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