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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: snap · stand · wake · cabinet · mate · cold · mark · pop

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mate — a friend
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. wake — a trail
  6. pop — soda
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. stand — to bear
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mark — a trace
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pop — to visit
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. pop — music

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