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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rock — music
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. ground — a position
  10. swing — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. snap — to click
  23. swing — in golf
  24. ground — the earth

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