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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 · march · bound · pitcher · cap · foot · dip · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. mug — a cup
  4. cap — a lid
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. bound — obliged
  7. snap — to click
  8. mug — to rob
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cap — a hat
  11. march — the month
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cap — of ice
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. march — music
  18. bound — tied together
  19. march — the month
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bound — certain
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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