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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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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 · snap · dip · bowl · cell · prune · chair · jam

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. prune — to trim
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — an illness
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cell — in biology
  10. snap — to click
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. dip — to sink
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. chair — a leader
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bowl — a football final

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