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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 120 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. mate — a friend
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to sink
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mate — a partner
  13. race — the arms race
  14. snap — to click
  15. mate — to breed
  16. club — for dancing
  17. race — humankind
  18. club — for golf
  19. season — in sport
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. season — of the year
  23. wake — a trail
  24. race — a contest

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