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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cap — of ice
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rest — what's left
  14. tear — from crying
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. march — the month
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. rest — a break
  22. march — the month
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. march — music

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