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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pop — soda
  4. capital — money
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pop — music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. swing — music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. snap — to click
  14. pound — a weight
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. swing — in golf
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pop — to visit
  23. capital — a city
  24. fall — the season

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