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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bound — obliged
  5. cue — a signal
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to click
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bound — certain
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cue — for pool
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mark — a trace
  24. rest — a break

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