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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · snap · arm · spring · wake · cold

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. spring — the season
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. spring — of water
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. arm — part of the body

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