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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  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. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pop — music
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pop — to visit
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pop — soda
  13. track — to keep track
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mark — a grade
  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