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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: march · deal · fan · snap · present · cap · pit · last

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. present — the time now
  3. last — finally
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pit — in a race
  6. last — to go on
  7. snap — to click
  8. last — final
  9. cap — of ice
  10. deal — to handle
  11. present — a gift
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. march — the month
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. march — the month
  20. pit — a hole
  21. march — music
  22. present — there
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. cap — a hat

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