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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. suit — clothes
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. suit — in cards
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. spring — the season
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. suit — to fit
  16. spring — of water
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. prune — to trim
  22. snap — to click
  23. pop — soda
  24. court — of law

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