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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: cold · snap · wound · rash · dip · fan · wake · toast

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. dip — to sink
  8. rash — a series
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. snap — to click
  14. wake — a trail
  15. toast — bread
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. fan — a supporter

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