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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 · cold · charge · mark · clip · pop · tube · root

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. pop — to visit
  3. charge — a price
  4. mark — a grade
  5. root — the cause
  6. snap — to click
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cold — not warm
  9. charge — in control
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tube — the underground
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. charge — electricity
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tube — a container
  21. root — of a word
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cold — the Cold War

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