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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. squash — the sport
  6. kid — child
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — all right
  13. kid — to tease
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fall — the season
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pop — soda
  23. snap — to click
  24. cold — not warm

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