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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bass — low music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. date — the fruit
  8. march — the month
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wound — an injury
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. chip — for betting
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. march — music
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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