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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: fan · key · kick · pop · arm · date · snap · cold

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. key — for a lock
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pop — music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kick — in football
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pop — to visit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pop — soda
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. key — in music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. date — the fruit
  23. snap — to click
  24. arm — a part of something

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