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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. mug — to rob
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pop — music
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fine — all right
  11. mug — a cup
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mug — a face
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. snap — to click
  23. wind — moving air
  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