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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  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. mug — a cup
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fall — to drop
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pop — music
  7. fall — the season
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a face
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — soda
  17. wake — a trail
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  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