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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cue — a hint
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cue — a signal
  12. court — for sport
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pop — music
  17. court — of law
  18. cap — of ice
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pop — soda
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. court — of a king
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cue — for pool

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