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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. drill — the tool
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. drill — a practice
  5. spring — of water
  6. pop — music
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pop — soda
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. shower — rain
  13. drill — army training
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mug — a cup
  16. can — to be able to
  17. mug — to rob
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mug — a face
  20. spring — the season
  21. snap — to click
  22. shower — to wash
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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