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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mug — a face
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. snap — to click
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mug — a cup
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. prune — to trim

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