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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. snap — to click
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pop — soda
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cap — of ice
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. pop — music
  16. kid — child
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — a lid
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mouse — the animal

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