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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: march · foot · wound · calf · present · roll · pop · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. present — the time now
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — a cake
  13. pop — music
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. march — the month
  18. pop — to visit
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. pop — soda
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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