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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mug · mine · snap · track · pop · chair · cap · prune

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mug — a cup
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mine — for digging
  7. track — a song
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pop — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cap — a lid
  16. track — a path
  17. pop — to visit
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pop — soda
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cap — a hat
  22. snap — to click
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mug — a face

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