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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a ring
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stem — to come from
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pop — soda
  12. suit — clothes
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — a position
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. snap — to click
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. ground — crushed
  19. suit — to fit
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ground — the earth
  24. suit — in cards

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