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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: snap · fan · lie · cold · prune · dip · bowl · pass

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cold — an illness
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. snap — to click
  9. pass — a permit
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. lie — an untruth

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