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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 116 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: last · cold · snap · pitcher · chip · pop · stick · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pop — music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. last — to go on
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. last — finally
  18. chip — to eat
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fall — the season
  22. last — final
  23. pop — soda
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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