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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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Word bank
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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: ball · mark · pitcher · snap · wave · rock · prune · cold

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rock — a stone
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cold — an illness
  9. snap — to click
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. rock — music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ball — a great time
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mark — a trace

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