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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. last — final
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. last — to go on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pitch — completely
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. toast — bread
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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