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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. pop — music
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pop — soda
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. tube — a container
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — an injury
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — a list
  22. mark — a grade
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wound — an injury

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