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

Word bank: dip · mate · chip · snap · pop · bore · stand · kid

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kid — to tease
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. stand — to bear
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pop — to visit
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bore — to tire

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