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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pop — to visit
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pop — soda
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pop — music
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. lean — thin
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. row — a line
  22. cell — a phone
  23. snap — to click
  24. stand — to bear

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