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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: drill · snap · bowl · ball · cold · rest · rock · pound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rest — a break
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pound — a weight
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. drill — army training
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rock — music
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ball — a great time

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