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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: snap · cell · pound · ball · lash · cold · stick · pass

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. cell — in biology
  4. ball — a great time
  5. snap — to click
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. pound — a weight
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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