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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: net · wake · rock · cap · cabinet · dip · snap · cold

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rock — music
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. snap — to click
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cold — an illness
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. net — for catching
  24. cabinet — ministers

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