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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. spell — letters
  6. pop — soda
  7. can — a tin
  8. field — farmland
  9. march — the month
  10. can — to be able to
  11. march — the month
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spell — a short time
  14. march — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. game — a match
  17. can — a tin
  18. mark — a trace
  19. spell — magic
  20. field — for sport
  21. pop — music
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. field — a subject
  24. game — a kind of play

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