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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: cap · wave · cold · last · foot · bark · snap · prune

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. last — to go on
  3. cap — a hat
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — not warm
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. last — finally
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cold — an illness
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. last — final
  17. snap — to click
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. prune — to trim
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cap — a lid

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