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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. march — music
  3. face — to confront
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cue — a signal
  6. snap — to click
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fine — all right
  13. cue — a hint
  14. fine — high quality
  15. shower — rain
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cue — for pool
  19. march — the month
  20. face — part of the head
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. face — to point toward
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — to wash

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