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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. suit — clothes
  4. pop — soda
  5. last — finally
  6. hand — in cards
  7. snap — to click
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pop — music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — final
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. last — to go on
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. pop — to visit
  21. suit — to fit
  22. hand — help
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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