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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. pop — music
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. club — for dancing
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pop — soda
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wake — a trail
  11. club — for golf
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. degree — from a university
  22. club — a group
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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