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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kid — child
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pound — a weight
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. date — the fruit
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ground — a position
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rush — hurry
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. snap — to click
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. ground — the earth

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