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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 have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. land — a country
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — to tease
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cue — a signal
  10. kid — child
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cap — of ice
  13. land — to come down
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cap — a lid
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. land — ground
  19. wake — a trail
  20. snap — to click
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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