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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: cold · calf · dip · racket · pop · cell · rock · snap

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pop — soda
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cold — an illness
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. snap — to click
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rock — music
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. dip — to dunk

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