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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rush — hurry
  4. shower — rain
  5. snap — to click
  6. net — in sport
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. swing — music
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. shower — to wash
  14. net — for catching
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cap — of ice
  20. net — after costs
  21. cap — a hat
  22. dip — to sink
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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