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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 116 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 · dip · cap · present · saw · sharp · march · wake

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. march — the month
  4. snap — to click
  5. present — there
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wake — a trail
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cap — a lid
  15. present — a gift
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — the tool
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. cap — of ice
  23. march — music
  24. present — the time now

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