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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. net — after costs
  5. snap — to click
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rest — what's left
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. pop — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. rest — a break
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. pop — soda
  23. bulb — for light
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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