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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: rest · date · cold · rush · perch · pop · snap · ground

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. perch — the fish
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. rest — what's left
  7. snap — to click
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ground — a position
  12. rest — a break
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — what's left
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pop — soda
  19. rush — hurry
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. ground — crushed

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