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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — a coil
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pop — music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pop — to visit
  13. mark — a grade
  14. snap — to click
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pop — soda
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bulb — for light
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. mark — a trace

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