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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. suit — in cards
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. snap — to click
  5. pit — a hole
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. ball — a dance
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pit — in a race
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cold — not warm
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. suit — clothes
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. suit — to fit

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