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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cold — an illness
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. game — wild animals
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. dip — to sink
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. game — a match
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cold — not warm

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