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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — an illness
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. snap — to click
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lean — thin
  14. cap — a lid
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a dance
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. track — a path
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. track — a song

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