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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. last — finally
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. prune — to trim
  6. deal — to handle
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. pop — music
  13. last — to go on
  14. pop — soda
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. dip — to sink
  17. degree — from a university
  18. last — final
  19. prune — to trim
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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