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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. season — of the year
  5. mug — a face
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. last — to go on
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. band — a music group
  17. mug — a cup
  18. last — final
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — finally
  23. mug — to rob
  24. season — in sport

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