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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. court — of law
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — for sport
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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