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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. spring — the season
  9. cell — in biology
  10. scale — in music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mate — a friend
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. pitch — completely
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. spring — of water
  21. mate — a partner
  22. snap — to click
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pitch — a sports field

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