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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. ground — a position
  3. mark — a grade
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. ground — crushed
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cap — a lid
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. club — for dancing
  18. cap — a hat
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cap — of ice

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