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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — not warm
  4. last — final
  5. pop — music
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. last — finally
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pop — to visit
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. last — to go on
  18. craft — a skill
  19. pop — soda
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hand — help
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — a weight
  24. snap — to click

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